Is neurotensin in the brain involved in thermoregulation of the monkey?

Cannulae for intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion were implanted stereotaxically in monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) maintained post-operatively in a primate restraint chair. During each experiment, a series of physiological measures was recorded simultaneously on a polygraph which included colonic temperature, vasomotor tone, heart rate, respiratory rate, and basal metabolism as reflected by O2 uptake. The ICV infusion in a volume of 0.5 ml of neurotensin (NT) in doses ranging from 3-150 micrograms produced neither a statistically significant nor consistent change in body temperature or vasomotor response. Although the highest dose of 450 micrograms NT infused ICV caused an immediate bradycardia and a concomitant decline in metabolic and respiratory rates, an average decline in core temperature of 0.6 degrees C and the accompanying cutaneous vasodilation often had a latency as long as 1.0 hr. In contrast to the typical hypothermia in this species following an ICV infusion of catecholamines, implicated in the central pathways underlying thermoregulation, NT failed to elicit a coordinated set of physiological responses for heat dissipation in the monkey. Therefore, it is unlikely that this tridecapeptide plays a role in the central mechanisms mediating the control of body temperature of this primate species.